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Gibbons gazing: You're driving down the street and you see a little guy with a long brown beard, dark sunglasses, black jeans, and a black leather jacket. The person you're with says, "Hey, look! There's that guy from ZZ Top." You get the joke -- that shmoe wearing all black in 105-degree heat does look like Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top's gravelly-voiced frontman, except for the fact he's wearing this weird, black rubber shower cap type number, notable for the nubby, round nipples protruding from it. It looks like this wacko has put a cow's udder on his head. A few days later you are introduced to this guy; he's wearing the exact same outfit, and he is indeed Billy Gibbons.
Gibbons has been as ubiquitous in Austin as rain has been scarce the last couple of weeks. He seems to be staying in the same hotel that houses Texas Monthly's offices. He turns up at local downtown restaurants like the Iron Cactus and Mezzaluna. He makes an announcement at the Austin Bar and Nightclub Awards. Evidently he's "sequestered" himself in the capital city to write songs and music for the next ZZ Top album, probably to be recorded later in the year in Houston. 
A nuance of note: The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) has decided to add mexicano regional as a new category in the Grammy Awards. This move answers the complaints of groups like California's Los Tigres Del Norte that they were shut out of winning Grammies because the only category for which they could be nominated was the Tejano category. A majority of NARAS's tejano category voters live in Texas where tejano is popular and thus groups like this year's winner, Houston's La Mafia, were seen as having an unfair advantage. In inaugurating the new category, NARAS shows that it can be sensitive to other cultures, noting nuances in musical style that may be imperceptable to many, but which matter significantly to those who play and listen to the music.
No longer enTranced: I just heard that Butthole Surfer drummer King Coffey's label, Trance Syndicate is shutting down. An excellent label known for putting out quality bands like Sixteen Deluxe, Bedhead, and Ed Hall, Trance's loss will be much lamented. Craig Stewart, who has run the day-to-day operations of the label for quite some time said "it was all King's decision. He just wasn't so passionate about running a label anymore." Stewart says that most of Trance's bands are comfortable with the decision and that they shouldn't have too much trouble getting picked up on other labels. Stewart himself will continue to shepherd his label, Emperor Jones, which worked under both Trance and their umbrella, Touch and Go. Emperor Jones' top group, American Analogue Set, will stay with Stewart. In related news, the Butthole Surfers are going label shopping as it seems their relationship with Capitol has run its course. Rumors have been flying about the Butthole's latest album, still unreleased, which was finished and then pulled by Capitol. One rumor claims the record is being held simply because it was really bad; a second reports that Capitol was concerned that it didn't seem to have a radio-quality single on it. Craig Stewart, however said that it's not really either of those things, but still wouldn't give a concrete reason. Whatever the cause, it's going to be a while before anyone gets to hear the album.
(7/1/98) |
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